


Memories of the Ferelden Circle

by LSev7n



Series: Stories from the Dragon Age [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Circle of Magi, Crying, Ferelden (Dragon Age), Gen, One Shot Collection, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 05:41:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20755250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSev7n/pseuds/LSev7n
Summary: "That's the thing about memories, you can't forget them."Anders was a wanted man. Aayilah - the Hero of Ferelden - didn't care. He was her friend, So when she finds him a random cave in the middle-of-nowhere Ferelden, all she wants to do is talk.





	Memories of the Ferelden Circle

**** Aayilah found him in a dusty cave in the middle-of-nowhere Ferelden. By the time she arrived, it was night. The entrance to the cave was softly lit by the aura of a flickering flame. Taking a deep breath, she trepidatiously walked into the cave, quickly arriving in its inner sanctum.

The inner sanctum was small, bubble-shaped with a low-rise roof. There was a campfire in the middle, animal meat brewing over the flames. To the left of the fire was a makeshift bed. A blanket with torn ends served as the mattress and a thinner blanket as the covers. Old worn-down books and parchments laid by the head of the bed. To the right of the fire, a man sat against the wall, a book in his hand that he seemed intensely concentrated on.

Aayilah took a step towards the man. He immediately reacted to her, dropping his book onto the ground. He curled his fingers up, the embers of a fire spell growing in his hand. Rising to his feet, he snapped his head towards her and pushed out his hand. A trail of flames flew towards her, spinning like a vortex through the air. Aayilah stepped back and raised her hand forward, casting a barrier spell. When the flames were an inch away from her, the barrier flared up and caused the flames to instantly dissipate. The man slowly lowered his hand, recognition in his eyes.

“Aayilah?” he asked in disbelief, as if he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not. 

“Hi Anders,” Aayilah said, smiling tightly. “It’s been awhile.”

He was dressed in the tatters of what Aayilah assumed was a mage robe. His beard was uneven, like he had cut it with a knife. His hair was no longer slicked back and tied in a neat bun. Instead, it had morphed into a messy blob of tangles and curls that twisted to his shoulders in length. His face was sullied, with hard lines and far too many wrinkles for someone his age. The shadows under his eyes were soul-suckingly black. But despite how completely different he looked, his eyes, a light hazel, were unmistakable.

_ Aayilah was crying in some deep dark corner of the Tower. The corner was claustrophobic, the walls seemingly collapsing in on her. The ceiling was barely a few inches higher than her head. Her knees were tucked in, her arms wrapped around them and her head lying on them. In the complete silence, she allowed herself to sob and sob, her screechs echoing back to her.  _

_ Through her sobs, Aayilah could vaguely hear footsteps approaching her location. She lifted her head up, fearfully looking at the entrance to her hidey-hole. Tears blurred her vision and trickled down her cheeks, tickling them. Hastily, she wiped her eyes and cheeks with her hands, but the tears refused to stop coming. She kept trying, scrubbing her skin harder and harder. _

_ Two fingers knocked on the top wall of the hidey-hole. A man peeked his head inside, revealing his stunning hazel eyes. Aayilah had never seen eyes like that before. She stopped wiping her tears, her eyes widening in fascination.  _

_ “Hi there,” the man cheerily said. Aayilah blinked at his tone, before remembering that he had found her crying. Instantly, she covered her face with her hands, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. She wanted the stupid man to go away. After a few moments, she parted her fingers slightly, just enough to peek at what he was doing.  _

_ Instead of leaving, he had decided to drop to the floor. He turned his body, so he was facing her and using his elbows, began crawling into the crevice. Mortified, Aayilah tried to back up, but her back was already against the wall. She gulped, waiting to see what the man would do. _

_ He stopped crawling forward when he was by her feet. Looking up at her with the same smile as before, he asked, “What’s wrong?” _

_ Aayilah dropped her face into her knees. “I’m fine,” she muttered. _

_ “You’re not fine though. You’re crying.” _

_ “Why do you even care?” _

_ “Because you’re sad.” _

_ She shook her head in her knees, her forehead rubbing roughly against them. “How did you find me?” Aayilah continued to ask, trying her best to change the conversation. _

_ “Because I used to come here and cry too. When I was little.” _

_ Aayilah finally raised her head, staring at the man in shock. “You cry too?” _

_ “Yep,” he said, popping the p. “Everyone cries, there’s nothing wrong with it. Especially here. This place stinks!” _

_ “But, I’ve never seen anyone else cry? They all seem happy,” Aayilah said, tilting her head at the man. She was dubious about his claim.  _

_ “Nah, they’ve just been here longer. They’ve gotten used to this place.” _

_ “So they’re pretending?” Aayilah asked, nibbling on her bottom lip. _

_ “Yep! Does that make you feel better?” _

_ “A little bit,” Aayilah admitted, loosening her grip on her legs.  _

_ The man grinned at her, his hazel eyes glowing. “So, do you want to tell me what you were crying about?” _

_ Aayilah wasn’t sure. It was a dumb reason to cry, but as she studied the man’s face, she felt like she could trust him. “I want to go home,” she said, placing her chin on her knees. She kept her eyes fixated on her hands, which were fidgeting with one another. _

_ “Where are you from?” he asked gently.  _

_ “The alienage in Denerim. I didn’t have a mom or dad, unlike the rest of the kids. But I liked my friends there. I want to see them again!” Aayilah whined. She rambled on, saying the first thing that came to her mind. “One day, me and my friends were playing outside, when I felt something warm in my hand. I looked down and there was this big fire! It was really scary and all the kids ran away from me. I think they told their parents because the next day these silver giants,” she gestured with her arms, spreading them apart to show the size of the giants, “came and took me. They weren’t very nice. They kept tugging at my arm and hurting it and wouldn’t stop even when I complained. I tried to ask them where they were taking me, but all they said was somewhere safe. But I don’t want to be somewhere safe! I want to be with my friends!” she shouted, refreshed tears brimming at the edge of her eyes.  _

_ Aayilah recoiled back when she felt the man’s hand touch her cheek and wipe away the tears rolling down. She looked up and was met with his kind smile. “I’m sorry about that, kiddo. I’ve been through that too and it sucks,” he said, his voice growing somber. Then suddenly it perked back up. “But hey, I’ll be your friend!” _

_ “You will?” Aayilah hopefully asked.  _

_ The man eagerly nodded. “We’ll be the best friends in the whole wide world! You and me, the crybabies.” _

_ Aayilah sniffed, fruitlessly holding back her tears. She didn’t know if the tears were from happiness or sadness. She extended her pinky finger.  _ _   
_ _ “Pinky promise we’ll be friends?”  _

_ The man looked at her finger in amusement. He chuckled softly, causing Aayilah’s face to flush. She was about to pull her finger back, but then she felt the man’s surprisingly soft pinky curl around hers. “Pinky promise,” he said, sounding completely serious. “But before we become friends, you gotta tell me your name kiddo?” _

_ “Aayilah.” _

_ “Aayilah, huh?” the man said, appearing to test how the name sounded on his tongue. “I like it. My name’s Anders.” _

“I -” Anders started, before stopping and looking away ashamed. He sat down, staring contemplatively into the fire. “How did you find me?”

Aayilah cautiously walked forward and took a seat opposite of Anders. Her back rested uncomfortably against the spiky cave wall. “The Fade. I followed your magical signature.”

“I didn’t know that was a thing,” he grumbled. He geared his eyes at Aayilah, a fiery hatred in them. She wasn’t sure if it was directed at her or not. “So, you found me. What now? Come to turn me into the Chantry to pay for my crimes? I bet they would love to get their paws on me. Here I’ll help you.” Anders stuck out both of his hands, as if they were in chains. When Aayilah didn’t move, Anders dropped them, sighing.

“Stupid question, but how are you?”

“Oh you know, the Chantry hates me. Most mages blame me for forcing them to be constantly on the run. All in all, never been better,” Anders bitterly replied, shaking his head. “How about you, Aayilah?” he asked sarcastically.

Ignoring the sarcasm, Aayilah replied, “I’ve been away for awhile. But I’m finally back and for good this time.” Anders licked his dry lips, but didn’t respond. Silence fell between the two. “I’m sorry,” Aayilah abruptly added.

Anders snorted. “You know Aayilah, you say that a lot. What are you exactly sorry for?”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there and that I left. Maybe if I was -” Aayilah paused, swallowing tightly. “Maybe if I was, you wouldn’t have left the Wardens.” 

“I don’t blame you.” Gone was his sarcastic tone, replaced by misery and regret. He leaned forward and grabbed a stick by the fire. He began tending to the flames, causing them to rise and fall in size. “I don’t think you came all this way just to apologize. Why are you really here?”

Aayilah stared at Anders for a moment. Sometimes, she forgot how well he knew her. And reflecting back on it, how little she knew him.

“Because I was worried about you and… and -” Aayilah started.

“Might as well spit it out. I can handle it, trust me.”

“Why did you do it?” Aayilah didn’t have to clarify. They both knew what she was referring to.

Anders humorlessly laughed. “I had too. We both grew up in the Circle, Aayilah. We saw the injustices done first-hand. Something had to be done.” His words sounded like there should be rage behind them, but Anders appeared too tired to supply that anger.

Aayilah smiled sadly at him. “You know I never once disagreed with you, but there was another way.”

“Was there?” Anders sharply retorted. “I thought about it for a long time. But the more I did, the more I started to realize that there wasn’t. Look at you,” he pointed his stick at her, “you’re an elven mage that saved the whole bloody world from an Archdemon. Has elves or mages benefitted from that? No,” heanswered for her. “Whether you like it or not Aayilah, violence is the only answer. People need dramatic examples to shake them out of their apathy.”

“People died Anders. Innocent people died.”

“I know,” Anders said, his eyes cloudy. “I know what I did. But I don’t think you understand. I don’t think you ever understood.” 

_ “You shouldn’t have done that,” Aayilah lectured disappointingly at Anders. _

_ He shrugged innocently. “They were bullying you.” _

_ “That doesn’t make it alright for you to hurt them back. You’re a full-blown mage and they’re just apprentices.” _

_ “Maybe they should have thought of that before they picked on you,” Anders retorted, his voice growing cold. His eyes seemed to grow a shade darker as well. Aayilah hated whenever Anders acted like this. He was always so kind and easygoing to her, but there was a darker side to him that she saw sometimes. A side of him that could be outright mean. She wondered if he hid that side of him because he was afraid of it, or because he didn’t want anyone knowing the real Anders. _

_ “The only thing hurting people who hurt you does is create more hurt people in the world.” Aayilah said with an absolute certainty. Anders’s gaze softened, seemingly shocked by her conviction. _

_ Shaking his head in amusement, Anders stated, “I won’t ever understand how you grew up to be such a good person.” She blushed and looked away from his intense stare. _

_ “I just don’t want you to get into trouble. Especially for me,” she muttered. _

_ In the corner of her eyes, Aayilah could see Anders frown at her. He reached forward and brushed aside her silver bangs. Her heart began racing rapidly, skipping a beat or two. Her breaths became short and shallow as she felt Anders’s hand on her cheek. It was tender and warm, so much so that she wanted to reach up and cup her hand over his. But she knew Anders would find that weird. She interlaced her fingers tightly to avoid accidentally doing it. She did, however, lean her head subtlety in the direction of his hand.  _

_ “Kiddo, I don’t understand why you don’t think you’re worth it. You’re important to me,” Anders said, sounding more sincere than she had ever heard him. _

_ “I am?” Aayilah was barely able to hear anything outside the rhythm of her heart. She held her breath in anticipation, only causing her heartbeat to rise. _

_ “Of course,” Anders replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  _

_ Aayilah’s cheeks flamed as she tilted her head down, hiding her face behind her loose threads of hair. “Thanks,” she mumbled, quiet as a breath. Through her bangs, she could see Anders’s smile, a special type of smile reserved only for her. She began feeling light-headed in that happy sort of way and had to bite down on her bottom lip to prevent a smile from erupting on her face. She was suppose to be mad at him! _

_ “You broke the pinky promise you made me though,” Aayilah meekly said. With Anders smile causing her to slowly melt, she didn’t have the strength to be angry. _

_ “True, I did break it.” He leaned in closer to her. She swore she could feel his breath brush against her face. “How will I ever repay you?” _

_ Aayilah abruptly flinched back, her bangs flapping into the air. “Just - Just don’t do it again!” she shouted. She could feel her entire face burning and the heat was only increasing.  _

_ Anders let out a hearty laugh, before settling into his usual know-it-all smirk. “I won’t.”  _

_ Aayilah pursed her lips, not happy how easy she let him off the hook. ‘I always let him do this,’ Aayilah chided herself. She needed another promise from him. She stuck out her pinky finger. “Pinky promise me to not hurt anyone without asking me first.” _

_ He whistled. “That’s a big pinky promise to make.” _

_ She shook her hand back and forth, glaring at him. “Make it!” Being angry was a lot easier when Anders was standing a respectable distance from her. _

_ “Ok, ok, I promise,” he said, once more curling his finger around Aayilah’s. _

“You know what showed me there was no choice?” Anders asked, breaking the tense silence between the two. “It was Jowan.” Aayilah sharply inhaled at the mention of his name. It brought out some of the happiest and saddest memories in her life. “They made him tranquil. Did you know that?” he continued, his voice began to rise. “Jowan, who wouldn’t harm a fly.  _ Our  _ friend, tranquil.” Anders pointed towards his head, a haunted look in his eyes. “Now he’s just gone.”

Aayilah found herself at a crossroads. Knots formed in her stomach, tightening each passing second. The truth danced on the tip of her tongue, needing to be let out. It was powered by the overwhelming guilt, by the Maker, the guilt. But the lie fed on her uncertainty and gnawed on her heart. 

Swallowing tightly, she settled on the truth. “I know, I condemned him.”

“You what?” Anders asked, his head whipping towards her. His body seemed to be trembling in rage, ready to explode at any moment.

Aayilah refused to look into his hazel eyes. “I - it was either death or returning to the Circle. I tried to set him free, but the Arl wouldn’t budge.” Her eyes started burning slightly as tears formed. “I know I should have tried harder. I know, I just… I just didn’t.” A lone tear slid down Aayilah’s cheek.

Anders leapt forward at Aayilah, knocking and pinning her to the ground. He curled his fingers into a tight ball and drew the fist back, ready to strike at her. She closed her eyes, accepting the punishment ten years in the making. She waited for the fist to slam into her. It never came.

Aayilah heard a cracking sound to her right. Gingerly opening her eyes, she glanced over, finding Anders’s fist planted into the stone floor. Blood trickled at the point of contact. “Anders,” she breathed out. She felt wet drops land on her cheeks. She blinked, thinking it was her own tears at first. But when she looked up, Aayilah realized it was Anders who was crying. Anders who she had never seen cry before. For once, she was the strong one.

“He was our friend Aayilah! We had each other’s back. We protected each other! How could you betray him?” Anders choked out. 

“I don’t know,” Aayilah quietly answered. She had spent so much time agonizing on that question. She never once had an answer. Maybe she was hurt from Jowan’s betrayal or she thought he deserved it. Maybe, just maybe, she never cared about him at all. 

“How could you not know!? You knew how scared he was of the Rite of Tranquility. We all were. You knew that. You knew that.” Anders slammed his fist against the stone over and over again.

“Please Anders, you’re hurting yourself.”

“I don’t care!” Anders roared, violently shaking his head. “I should be dead anyway. I should have died in Kirkwall!” He attempted to slam his fist into the rock again, but Aayilah caught it and held it in an iron-grip. He tried at first to loosen her grip, but quickly gave up. Instead, he took his other hand and lightly beat it against her chest. It didn’t hurt. “I should have died. I should have been a martyr for the Mage Uprising. Instead, I’m just a pathetic mage who couldn’t save any of his friends.”

Aayilah caught his other hand and kept them locked together at his chest. Slowly, she slipped out from under him, rising to her knees. She gently took Anders into her arms. He accepted the hug, crying into her shoulder as she patted him on the head. “Hey, it’s alright to be alive, ok? Jowan would be happy that you’re alive. It’s ok,” she kept on repeating to the sobbing Anders.

“Hey, remember that time that you, me and Jowan pranked the Templars,” Aayilah started, resisting the urge to just say ‘it’s ok.’ “Me and Jowan were like 13 or 14 and we wanted to show that we weren’t afraid of the Templars. So, then you suggested the  _ wonderful _ idea of throwing pies into their face. Remember the looks on their face,” Aayilah giggled. Anders stopped sobbing and pulled slightly away from her. 

“Yeah,” he started, his voice raspy. “And remember Irving’s face when he found out what we did? He  _ definitely _ found it hilarious, but he had to pretend he was angry.”

Aayilah nodded twice. “The Templars were pissed. I was positive we were all going to be made tranquil.”

Anders leaned his head back and guffawed through his tears, clutching his sides. “And me and Jowan had to reassure you for weeks that nothing was going to happen. We were like ‘Ah, old man Irving wouldn’t let them do anything to us.’”

“Come on,” Aayilah said, poking his arm like she used too, “just admit that you and Jowan were just as scared as I was.”

“Abso - fucking - lutely. If me and Jowan ever got any time away from you, we would complain about how we were going to die. We even went to Irving to ask what would happen to us.”

“What did he say?”

“He refused to answer, that bastard.” Anders raised his fingers into the air, air-quoting. “He told us to ‘wait and see.’”

“He was messing with you,” Aayilah replied, her small giggle bursting into a full-on laugh.

“Yep and we fell for it like novice apprentices.”

They both broke into uncontrollable fits of laughter. When they sobered up, Anders wiped the tears out of his eyes. They were red, the only sign that he had been crying. With a tight, remorseful smile, Anders said, “Those were good times.”

Aayilah studied Anders’s eyes. There was regret in those hazel eyes, regret that probably would never leave him. “Yes, yes they were.”

Anders sighed, fully pushing off Aayilah. He scooted away from her and gazed towards the cave entrance. “Have you seen him recently?”

“No. I haven’t been able to face him since... well since,” Aayilah stopped, biting her lip.

“Oh,” he said, understanding her. He sounded disappointed, rather than angry. Disappointment was always worse than anger. 

“We could visit him, you know. The two of us?” Aayilah suggested, her voice was shaky and quiet at first, but grew louder and more confident with each passing word. 

“Visit him?” Anders scoffed. “I’m still a wanted man and besides, I don’t know where he is.”

“I do.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Anders remarked dryly.

Aayilah rose to her feet and extended her hand towards him. “What do you say Anders?”

_ Aayilah was studying in the library when a small boy with dark hair and dark eyes approached her. She didn’t recognize him from any of her classes. _

_ “Excuse me?” he timidly said, peeking his head around the massive collection of books in his arms. The books were clumsily stacked on top of each other, threatening to collapse at any moment.  _

_ “Hi there,” Aayilah replied, tilting her head curiously.  _

_ “Can I study here?” he asked. Aayilah glanced around the library, realizing that there weren't any open tables and she was the lone resident of hers. Sometimes Anders would sit with her, but these days he always seemed to be hanging around Karl. Even when Anders wasn’t with her, no one seemed to want to approach the weird elf with the scary-looking older friend.  _

_ “Sure,” she answered, grinning at him. He returned her smile and attempted to gracefully drop his books onto the table. But he lost his grip, spilling them across it. A few apprentices glared in their direction. Aayilah ducked her head and slid further into the chair, hoping they wouldn’t see her face. _

_ “Sorry,” the boy muttered, hurrying to fix the pile of books. When Aayilah was sure the apprentices weren’t looking at them anymore, she leaned forward and piled the books on her side of the table into a neat stack. She gently pushed the stack towards the boy, who had just finished gathering his books. “Thank you so much!” he said. He dropped into his seat, letting out a sigh of relief. _

_ “Why do you have so many books?” Aayilah asked. _

_ “Huh?” he looked up at her in shock. _

_ “Why do you have so many books?”  _

_ “Oh,” he said, tilting his head down so Aayilah couldn’t see his eyes. “It’s - it’s because I’m ne- new here. I have a lot of catchi- catching up to do.” That explained why she hadn’t seen him before. _

_ “What’s your name?” _

_ “Jow- Jowan,” he answered. _

_ “Aayilah,” she happily greeted. “You probably don’t want to be here, but welcome to the Circle.” _

_ “It’s not that bad so far,” he quietly said as he grabbed one of his books and flipped it open. It didn’t appear he wanted to talk to her. Frowning, Aayilah returned to her book. Occasionally, she would glance up to watch Jowan. _

_ They would continue like this for the next few days. The first time Jowan returned, Aayilah was pleasantly surprised. Clearly, she hadn’t made as big of a fool of herself as she thought. As they continued to study, she actually grew to enjoy their weird study dynamic. It was nice that someone was finally willing to sit with her. _

_ One day, she glanced up from her dreadfully boring textbook and found Jowan staring at her. He quickly averted his eyes, a blush forming on his cheeks. “Sorry,” he muttered. _

_ “You don’t have to apologize,” Aayilah softly said. Either Jowan didn’t hear her or didn’t care because he returned to his book. She huffed out her cheeks. “I won’t bite you if you talk to me!” It came a mix of angry and desperate. _

_ Jowan looked up stunned. “I don’t think you’ll bite. I just don’t know if you want to talk to me.” _

_ “Why do you think that? Am I scary?” She didn’t hide the hurt in her voice well. _

_ “No, no, that’s not it,” Jowan scrambled, waving his hands. “I think you’re really cool actually! A lot cooler than me.” _

_ “You think… I’m cool?” _

_ Jowan eagerly nodded. “You’re friends with that blond mage, right? Having an older friend sounds really cool. All my friends were always the same age as me.” _

_ “I could introduce you if you want? I mean like you don’t have too or anything, but I’m sure-” _

_ “Really?” Jowan interrupted, grinning from ear to ear. _

_ Aayilah leaned back in her chair, catching her breath. “Really,” she confirmed, matching his grin. _

_ “Can I meet him tonight?” _

_ “Yeah!” _

_ Jowan’s grin suddenly dropped. “He’ll want to meet me, right?” _

_ “I think he’ll love to meet you!” _

* * *

“Uh, Aayilah, I thought we were visiting Jowan?” Anders said, his eyes gazing up at the Ferelden Circle Tower. It looked almost exactly the same as it did ten years ago, standing as a powerful symbol of the Magi. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth now.

“We are,” Aayilah answered as she carefully maneuvered the boat and docked it on land. She stepped out first, with Anders hesitantly following her lead. They walked up to the wooden front gates and pushed them open.

Entering the lobby of the Tower, Aayilah paused and took in the surroundings. Everything was where she remembered it. There the small bench in front of the sword-and-shield statue that greeted them. Two tables with two chairs were pressed against the back wall, a stock painting hanging over each. Unlit candles rested on the table. The whole scene was just too neat and orderly. And it was eerily quiet. The Tower was never quiet, even at night. Someone was always carelessly flinging magic around. 

_ Home, sweet home _ , Aayilah thought. For 15 years of her life, the Tower was the only home she knew. A home she was forcibly removed from. She was devastated at the time, but now she couldn’t even imagine being cooped up in this stuffy old Tower. Being back in the Tower was more akin to strolling down the streets of Denerim. It was an important place to her, somewhere that defined her, but nothing more. 

“After the Circles were officially disbanded, the Mages and Templars hastily left. But most Tranquils were completely left alone. Unless they were with a rebel mage, the Templars wouldn’t kill them. So, a lot of tranquils simply stayed in the Towers, attending to their duties,” Aayilah explained as they walked through the Tower. She stopped for a moment, peeking into an apprentice quarters. Throughout the room, chests of personal belongings were flung open. In some of the chests, there were personal items left behind. She resumed walking, grimacing. The Mage-Templar War had upturned so many lives so abruptly and suddenly. 

“Jowan’s here then?” Anders asked in disbelief.

“Nervous?” Aayilah darted her eyes at him.

“You’re telling me you’re not?”

“I am,” she softly replied. Of course she was. Ever since asking Anders to visit Jowan, her heart had been caught in her throat. But no matter how scared they were, they needed to see Jowan. He deserved that much at least. 

Still, it didn’t stop the countless anxiety-filled questions ringing in her mind. Was it possible that Jowan would be angry at her? Would he even recognized Anders or her in the first place? Would they recognize him? 

_ There’s only one way to find out _ , Aayilah told herself, taking a deep courageous breath. She pushed open the stairway door, reaching the second floor of the Tower. A man in Tranquil robes was waiting for them there, tending to the magical stockroom. It was empty of any stock, but the Tranquil continued his duty of cleaning the boxes.

Anders and Aayilah’s footsteps alerted the Tranquil. He turned to look at them, causing both of them to gasp. Jowan’s dark eyes stared back at them, completely emotionless.

“Jowan,” Anders said, recovering first and taking a step forward.

“Hello, I am Jowan,” he announced. 

“Do you recognize us?” Anders asked, pointing at Aayilah and himself.

Jowan contorted his face in a confused expression. He slowly began to nod. “I do. You’re are Anders and she is Aayilah.”

“Yes!” Aayilah managed to find her voice. “We’re your friends,” she declared. Her eyes desperately looked into Jowan, hoping by some miracle, there was a reaction. Nothing. She found nothing. 

“Friends,” Jowan stated, somewhat thoughtfully. “That is a word I like.” Then, by some miracle, as if the Maker himself intervened, Jowan smiled. A real genuine smile. “Hello my friends, Anders and Aayilah.” It might have been his smile, but Aayilah swore his voice was warmer than before. 

Aayilah and Anders exchanged a glance, smiling at one another. They turned that smile towards Jowan. In unison they said something that had been Aayilah had waited ten years to say. “Hi, Jowan.”

**Author's Note:**

> Above quote is from Smallville.
> 
> I posted this way later than expected, which I'm really, really sorry for. But the next one should be out really soon!  
As always, thanks for reading!


End file.
